I've got a serious choking problem, and have absolutely no clue how to address it. Even in informal matches, where I know and like the other people, I can't seem to control it.
In my basement, I normally shoot 550 AP, +/- 6 or so. At an AP match a few weeks ago my sighters were fine; a "7" to start, a 9, and a clump of 10's. For record I then proceeded to shoot an absolutely abysmal score somewhere in the low/mid 80% range.
In FP I normally shoot 515, +/- 10. At a match this weekend I don't even want to think about what I shot; suffice it to say it was a good 50 points below that. On the way home I stopped by my range and posted a few targets in the high 80/low 90 range.
After an especially bad shot I'll take a few moments to dry fire a bit. As soon as I start to dry fire I'm fine - good sight alignment, decent hold, and good trigger control. Put a round in the chamber and it all falls apart. For what it's worth, the problem seems to be 75% trigger control and 25% hold.
Saying "shoot more matches" doesn't really help. The problem seems to be getting worse and worse, rather than better. Fear of failure leads to more failure. The same problem rears its ugly head in bullseye matches. In practice, I'll usually shoot 98+ in timed and rapid (.22); in a match (or even the local league) I'm lucky to keep it at 90 or better.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can start to counter this problem? Although I have a great time shooting on my own, it's getting to the point where the matches just aren't any fun!
Choking - I NEED HELP
Moderators: pilkguns, m1963, David Levene, Spencer, Richard H
One of the big problems for me was that I was keeping track of score and when I was not shooting quite up to par in a match (i.e a 7 - uh oh! Got to shoot 3 more 10's to counter this!) did not help at all and only escalated the problem. I think the best thing to do is just relax yourself (deep breathing, etc) and concentrate solemnly on performance and most imporantly shoot 1 shot matches. Don't concentrate on your score or your string of 10, instead concentrate on the shot at hand and make every effort to shoot a perfect 10. When you do this use postive reinforcement - go over the things you did right and try to copy that each shot in. When you can do this you can usually keep your mind off of score and related just on performance. If you have a bad shot remember that it is behind you, you can't do anything to fix it so instead concentrate on this next shot, and also remember that everbody makes the odd bad shot or two and that everybody feels match preassure!
-
Guest
"Although I have a great time shooting on my own, it's getting to the point where the matches just aren't any fun!"
Here is where the problem is. Shooting and all sports should be fun. When they're not it becomes self fulfilling. One of the best bicycle races I ever had was with a raging hangover. I felt too horrible to care about results and just wanted to get done so I took a few chances (not with bodily harm. I felt bad but still had a sense of self preservation; sorta) with zero regard for the outcome. I did very well. I believe it was due to allowing myself to fail. There was no pressure at all. I was looking for a way out and was also relaxed. Best part was the physical activity burned the crud out of my system and I felt better. That race taught me how to let go of the result and just participate. This was 20 years ago while in college and the lesson has stuck. The experience also curbed the excessive boozing.
Jump to present day: At the recent biathlon nationals in MN it became obvious I wasn't going to see the podium except as a spectator cheering for the guys who just beat me. I had a very late start and was able to watch the elite races and realized during my races I get caught up in the race and forget to race the same way I train. I rushed coming into the range, rushed to start shooting and I was ignoring all of the things I did during training bouts. During my race I made the effort to slow down a bit sooner and spend the time needed to get properly set-up on the mat, don't compromise anything, shot my race in my rhythm, skied well, and just lived in the moment with no regard for the outcome. No storybook ending I was still cheering for the podium guys but I did have a great race. My shooting was better, I skied faster and the delta between me and the podium was much smaller. A huge improvement which I am very proud of. Best of all it was FUN.
Do I care about results? Hell yes and I want to win too. What I'm learning to do, at 42, is relax and just be. I can't control the final result or other competitors but I can control my event. If I race against myself and put forth the best effort while enjoying every moment on the racecourse (some in retrospect) the results will come and I'll get to the podium where people will clap for me.
Last example was the first race I ever won. It was a summer event and I had been training for two months. Six weeks earlier I had been lapped and my legs so sore I was afraid to drive home with fear I would lock up in the car and not be able to move. On day 2 I raced the novice girls laps (1/3) the distance and walked most of it. I was participating but the result was pathetic. At the race win event I just ran for the training benefit trying to learn racecraft. After the first hill I never saw the group again. I shot really well and used the range to make up the speed deficit of my running. I was amazed when the results sheet was posted. Again, I was having fun and concentrating on performing well with no regard for the outcome. Granted the competition was thinner than the first event. I won a few more races that summer when my attitude was relaxed with the idea of having fun and just doing and allowing myself to run on auto. Sounds familiar?
Here is where the problem is. Shooting and all sports should be fun. When they're not it becomes self fulfilling. One of the best bicycle races I ever had was with a raging hangover. I felt too horrible to care about results and just wanted to get done so I took a few chances (not with bodily harm. I felt bad but still had a sense of self preservation; sorta) with zero regard for the outcome. I did very well. I believe it was due to allowing myself to fail. There was no pressure at all. I was looking for a way out and was also relaxed. Best part was the physical activity burned the crud out of my system and I felt better. That race taught me how to let go of the result and just participate. This was 20 years ago while in college and the lesson has stuck. The experience also curbed the excessive boozing.
Jump to present day: At the recent biathlon nationals in MN it became obvious I wasn't going to see the podium except as a spectator cheering for the guys who just beat me. I had a very late start and was able to watch the elite races and realized during my races I get caught up in the race and forget to race the same way I train. I rushed coming into the range, rushed to start shooting and I was ignoring all of the things I did during training bouts. During my race I made the effort to slow down a bit sooner and spend the time needed to get properly set-up on the mat, don't compromise anything, shot my race in my rhythm, skied well, and just lived in the moment with no regard for the outcome. No storybook ending I was still cheering for the podium guys but I did have a great race. My shooting was better, I skied faster and the delta between me and the podium was much smaller. A huge improvement which I am very proud of. Best of all it was FUN.
Do I care about results? Hell yes and I want to win too. What I'm learning to do, at 42, is relax and just be. I can't control the final result or other competitors but I can control my event. If I race against myself and put forth the best effort while enjoying every moment on the racecourse (some in retrospect) the results will come and I'll get to the podium where people will clap for me.
Last example was the first race I ever won. It was a summer event and I had been training for two months. Six weeks earlier I had been lapped and my legs so sore I was afraid to drive home with fear I would lock up in the car and not be able to move. On day 2 I raced the novice girls laps (1/3) the distance and walked most of it. I was participating but the result was pathetic. At the race win event I just ran for the training benefit trying to learn racecraft. After the first hill I never saw the group again. I shot really well and used the range to make up the speed deficit of my running. I was amazed when the results sheet was posted. Again, I was having fun and concentrating on performing well with no regard for the outcome. Granted the competition was thinner than the first event. I won a few more races that summer when my attitude was relaxed with the idea of having fun and just doing and allowing myself to run on auto. Sounds familiar?
The above advice boils down to (in my mind) one thing. Shoot single shot matches. Instead of looking at the whole group, focus on just the shot you have control over... the one you're shooting Right Now. Forget about who you're shooting with, where you're shooting (those are irrelevant) and just focus on the basics ~ your shot routine.
In my first BIG, national level match, I remember going in with sweaty palms, shaking like a leaf right down to the core of my body. I was WAY too anxious and having a miserable time of it. I shot about 10x more sighters than normal in an effort to get settled. Then I glanced at my journal, read my notes on mental attitude and started shooting for score. Posted a final score one shot below my personal (match) best.
It's all mental at this point. You're getting in the way.. :)
Brian
ShootingAir.com
In my first BIG, national level match, I remember going in with sweaty palms, shaking like a leaf right down to the core of my body. I was WAY too anxious and having a miserable time of it. I shot about 10x more sighters than normal in an effort to get settled. Then I glanced at my journal, read my notes on mental attitude and started shooting for score. Posted a final score one shot below my personal (match) best.
It's all mental at this point. You're getting in the way.. :)
Brian
ShootingAir.com
Last edited by Brian M on Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If you can perform in practice, but not in a match you must look for what is different. Usually it will be your mental set (but occasionally it will be physical due to having to shoot at a differnet time of day ot after different meal situations).
The mental part generally comes from different expectations in a match than in practice. In practice you're "just shooting", but in a match many shooters "try hard to do well". Big difference in those two mind sets. You have to get back to "just shooting" in the match.
Running your pre-shot program to the point of turning over control to the sub/un-conscious in the last few milliseconds can help you keep your thoughts on the activity of firing the shot, rather than the outcome. One shot matches are a great mental tool to use to accomplish staying in the NOW.
The mental part generally comes from different expectations in a match than in practice. In practice you're "just shooting", but in a match many shooters "try hard to do well". Big difference in those two mind sets. You have to get back to "just shooting" in the match.
Running your pre-shot program to the point of turning over control to the sub/un-conscious in the last few milliseconds can help you keep your thoughts on the activity of firing the shot, rather than the outcome. One shot matches are a great mental tool to use to accomplish staying in the NOW.
-
2650 Pus
Match pressure
I'd bet you aren't scoring yourself shot by shot in your practise at home. The sugestion that you shoot one shot matches sounds right to me. Only the next shot is important so work on that and forget the circus that often surronds a competition. Read Steve Swartz's writings in this forum on technique but approach his ideas on trigger control carefully. they are somewhat advanced for a beginning shooter and an intermediate step may be required. Mr Hall of the Air Force competition teams is a good place to go to find information that should help you begin to overcome the match pressure and he also post to this forum.
-
Roy Hill
Find ways to put yourself into match-style conditions, but also totally forget about what the score is during that match, or even on the last shot.
It's a paradox, I know. Even contradictory.
But find a buddy to shoot with. Shoot with and against that person to try to simulate match pressure.
But then focus on performing your shot fundamentals the best you can......stance, hold control, sight picture, breath control, trigger control, follow through, and ignore the score.
I tell my shooters over and over and over, "There is only one shot in the world." And that's the shot you are about to shoot right now.
The shot you just fired? It ceased to exist the instant the trigger broke.
If you get emotionally high or low based on the shot you just fired, the shot you no longer have any control over, then you are going to get into trouble.
All your focus should be on what you do have control over....stance, sight picture, breath control, trigger control, follow through.
Perform the fundamentals, and the score will take care of itself.
Roy Hill
It's a paradox, I know. Even contradictory.
But find a buddy to shoot with. Shoot with and against that person to try to simulate match pressure.
But then focus on performing your shot fundamentals the best you can......stance, hold control, sight picture, breath control, trigger control, follow through, and ignore the score.
I tell my shooters over and over and over, "There is only one shot in the world." And that's the shot you are about to shoot right now.
The shot you just fired? It ceased to exist the instant the trigger broke.
If you get emotionally high or low based on the shot you just fired, the shot you no longer have any control over, then you are going to get into trouble.
All your focus should be on what you do have control over....stance, sight picture, breath control, trigger control, follow through.
Perform the fundamentals, and the score will take care of itself.
Roy Hill
-
Steve Swartz
I shoot a lot of one shot matches. I am focuesd on what I have to do right now and what I have to do right now is shoot a TEN!
Or should I say what I have to do is work on the techniques and behaviors that I believe will result in a ten?
I remember a post game interview with a goaltender in the Stanley cup finals. His team had lost the game that day, but not the series. The normal excellent, experienced goaltender made some bone-head play and the opposing team scored with him out of the net. He made an obvious mistake. When asked about it during the post game , the goaltender denied that the bad play ever happened. It never existed. It did not happen. Of course the incident was on tape etc. But the goaltender inisted it just never happened.
He played extremely well, with confidence the next night. I believe his team , with him in goal went on to win Lord Stanley's Cup.
Or should I say what I have to do is work on the techniques and behaviors that I believe will result in a ten?
I remember a post game interview with a goaltender in the Stanley cup finals. His team had lost the game that day, but not the series. The normal excellent, experienced goaltender made some bone-head play and the opposing team scored with him out of the net. He made an obvious mistake. When asked about it during the post game , the goaltender denied that the bad play ever happened. It never existed. It did not happen. Of course the incident was on tape etc. But the goaltender inisted it just never happened.
He played extremely well, with confidence the next night. I believe his team , with him in goal went on to win Lord Stanley's Cup.
I found that I gained something from posting scores and training goals and such in public - that way, the pressure's more or less constant. Perhaps that might help?